Junkyard Society
by theonewhosawitall
Summary: Vigilante/Street Fighter AU. Hawkmoth has taken over Paris and is acting as a behind-the-curtain controller. His akumas kidnap people on a nearly daily basis, and the police can't do anything about it. No one can. No one but a gang of teenagers in animal costumes who won't let a little thing like the law get in their way. Can Adrien find a place in the only family looking someone?
1. Chapter 1

Paris were used to people going missing these days. No one liked to talk about the evil man who had taken over, using the mayor and the police as puppets, but they all knew about it. Hawkmoth ruled with an iron fist, and no one was willing to stand up to him. After all he was a mystery figure, no one could be sure who he really was, and if he heard them on the street plotting something, they'd disappear too. Men in vans would come in the night. Akumas ready to whisk people away never to be seen again. no one knew who was behind this, and no one wanted to risk angering them and vanishing too, so they stayed quiet about it.  
Just recently though, there had been raids on these vans before they got to the dungeons. A bunch of masked and hooded teenagers were breaking people free and releasing them back to their lives. No one knew for sure who they were under their animal disguises. There had been a blog dedicated to finding out who these unsung heroes were but that had suddenly fallen silent not very long after starting. Everyone just assumed whoever was running it had been taken by the akumas. Not that that made much sense to the blogs only true fan, Adrien. he thought whoever was controlling the akumas would want to know who was fighting against them in order to find and catch them, but his father disagreed. Or rather, told him not to bother with such trivial matters and focus on whatever they were doing at the time…

Adrien Agreste's father, Gabriel, had been protective of him since he was young and this gave him a reason to be more so. He wasn't allowed outside of the nine-foot fence around their manor. Not even his one friend Chloe Bourgeois was allowed in anymore. Given that her father was the puppet mayor she was protected, but that didn't mean Adrien was. If she told her father Adrien had said something, anything that might attract the wrong kind of attention, Mayor Andre wouldn't listen to reason. Gabriel couldn't risk his son and only heir to be taken by the akumas. Instead of letting him out to make friends, he brought him a black cat with emerald eyes to match his own and a strange love of cheese. The smellier the better. Sometimes, when Adrien was lonely enough (which was all the time) he pretended that Plagg could talk, just to have someone who would listen to him.

"I'm bored Plagg!" The blonde-haired boy complained to his cat one morning as he sat in the grass of the garden shut off from the outside world. "I don't want to be stuck in here, all alone!"

Plagg mewled indignantly. He didn't like to be forgotten. Adrien sighed as he reached up to scratch his cat's head affectionately. His green collar with a little golden bell jingled as he did.

"I know, I'm not alone. But what I mean is I want something different... I want..."

"You want what?" Plagg asked, innocently, in Adrien's mind.

Adrien sighed, "I have often dreamed of some far-off place, where there's a crowd of people waiting to welcome me like a hero...

somewhere that feels like... this is where I'm meant to be!"

"How can you find that place if you're not allowed to leave?" Plagg asked.

"Exactly," Adrien groaned. "I'll find some way to leave and go there someday. If I can be strong, if I can will myself to go on each mile, I can find the place where I belong."

Plagg tilted his head and mewled softly. Adrien sighed. He knew it sounded impossible. Gabriel wouldn't even let him out of the house, how was he supposed to find somewhere where he felt he actually belonged?

"It'll be an unknown road to find my fate, but if it'll lead me to someone who'll welcome me with open arms, it'll be worth the wait. I won't lose hope, I don't care how far! I can go the distance

if it means I get a hero's welcome somewhere I'm actually wanted!" Adrien glanced back towards the house, to the large stain glass butterfly window near the roof. His father's shadow moved on the other side. He didn't feel wanted here.

Plagg headbutted him to get his attention again. "Have you tried wishing on a star?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm four years old?"

"Oh come on Adrien! It's worth a shot. It doesn't matter who you are when you wish upon a star, anything your heart desires-"

"That's an urban legend Plagg!"

"Legends are lessons, they ring with truths."

Adrien blinked at him slowly, trying to come up with an answer to this was more difficult than he was expecting so he batted a hand. "Carry on."

"When you have a dream no request is too difficult. Fate is kind. If it's something you want for, really want, fate will step in and see you through. There's no harm in wishing on a star," Plagg explained quietly.

Adrien sighed. It was worth a shot. He looked up into the crystal clear blue sky, and could only see one star to wish on. Well the sun was the strongest thing in the galaxy, why not wish on it? Adrien closed his eyes tightly and wished with all his might for a friend to help him out of this trap. He allowed one green eye to slither open first, desperately hoping, by some miraculous event, someone was here to save him.  
Nothing.  
His garden was empty.  
Feeling foolish and frustrated, Adrien shoved himself to his feet. Plagg mewled, watching him eagerly. Adrien glared at the nine-foot fence trapping him in. This fence had always trapped him in. It was the only thing between him and the potential for everything he wanted. He _hated_ it. Full of anger, Adrien kicked the fence with such force that a wooden plank shook. Adrien and Plagg both snapped up sharply as it did.

"Did you see that Plagg?" Adrien gasped.

Plagg took a step forward, curiously. Adrien took that as encouragement. He stepped forward, she shoved the plank again. It creaked. His eyebrows rose as he smiled. He shook it harder. Slowly, as he continued to batter the fence around it, the plank began to slip free of its trappings. Adrien took a step back, sweeping Plagg into his arms for his own safety, as the plank went tumbling down into the garden, dragging down the one beside it too.  
 ** _Crash!_**  
Plagg yowled in shock and leapt out of Adrien's arms urgently. He froze, holding his breath. Any second now he expected his keeper, Natalie, to come dashing down the garden path to drag him away from the new gaping hole in the fence. But she didn't... As soon as he realised she wasn't coming he breathed again. This hole was big enough for him to slip through and finally explore the city he'd lived excluded from for so long. Adrien glanced up at the sun on awe. Maybe there was something to be said about wishing.

"STOP! HALT! COME BACK HERE!"

Rodger, the cop, was a familiar voice to Adrien. He found pleasure in yelling at people. At least Adrien thought he did, because since Hawkmoth took over, he'd been yelling more and using his whistle less. It was the yelling that Adrien could always hear despite the fence. You can block out the city's sights, but you can't block out the city's sounds. Now through, Adrien had a window to see the world through.

"Move! Move, move, move, move, move!"

This was an unfamiliar voice. Urgent and young and female. Curiosity got the better of Adrien. He peered around the edge of the gap in his fence, hoping to see either the owner of the voice, or who she was yelling at.

A girl came screaming around the corner onto the street. She crashed into a bin, throwing it across the road, and kept running like she hadn't noticed. He couldn't see her face from beneath her hood, but she wore a black tank top hidden behind a short black hoodie, lined with red, with ladybug spots down the sleeves, along the hood, and along her bulky belt that held up her black trousers. Her trainers were red and black and perfect for running in. Running straight past Adrian without a glance. Hot on her heels was another girl in yellow and black.  
She dashed past the bin, skidding to turn and follow the first girl. Her shirt was white behind her hoodie, white was black up to her middle, then suddenly became yellow across her sleeves and chest, even though her shoulders were black, and her hood yellow again. Her yellow trousers had black stripes down the edges.  
Then came a bright girl with a pale-yellow shirt behind an orange hoodie with pointed fox ears on the hood, orange baggy trousers, orange converse with paw beans on the soles, and a too long belt that trailed behind her like a tail. She leapt gracefully over the bin and landed as if she never left the ground. All three girls were gone in a flash and Adrien just saw their colours as they dashed past.  
Then came the boy.  
He was dressed up in green, with lighter green and yellow hexagons across his zipped-up hoodie, his hood low enough to flap across his camouflage baseball cap, which in turn tapped on his turtle shell glasses. His green trousers were covered in pockets and his green backpack bounced against his back as he ran. He threw a glance over his shoulder as he went and tripped straight over the bin. As he tried to clamber to his feet he let out a cry of pain. He'd hurt his ankle in the fall. He glanced back urgently and tried to limp away as quickly as he could.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Rodger was closing in. Adrien's heart beat harder. Maybe this was the sun answering his wish. Without thinking, he leaned through the gap in the fence, grabbed the boy, and dragged him through to safety. Misreading the situation - understandably given he'd just been dragged off the street by a stranger, and everyone in Paris could potentially be Hawkmoth - the boy grabbed Adrien by his collar and slammed him against the fence. Adrien gasped to find himself pinned viciously against his fence with a hand over his mouth. Even injured this boy was impressively strong. Adrien could see now that he had a deep green eye mask tied around his head like one of those Ninja turtles. He found himself wondering if the girls had too. No doubt their colours would match their outfits.  
The cop's footsteps came closer. The boy's grip got tighter. His soft caramel eyes were fixed on the gap in the fence.  
Adrien's hands felt clammy as he heard the footsteps pause, no doubt close to the hole in the fence. There was a crackling on the radio on his belt. Adrien's chest ached as he found himself unable to breath... A blue uniform stepped into view through the gap. The boy pressed flat against Adrien, as if he weren't there. A scream burned in Adrien's throat.

This was a mistake.  
This was dangerous.  
This was going to end badly.

Plagg was hissing at the boy. He'd doubled in size with all his fluff on end. The boy barely registered the hissing, spitting, cat at his feet.  
But Rodger did.

"What's wrong with this mangy mog?" He wondered aloud.

When he reached down to see what was wrong with him, Plagg yowled and swiped at the chubby hand aimed at him. Rodger cried in pain. Three thin red lines appeared on his arm, blood drops pearling at the openings.  
Adrien squealed nervously and the hand over his mouth pressed harder. His lungs felt fit to burst, but he couldn't breathe through fear. Everything felt silent but them and this cop. Everything fell away but them and this trap.  
There was no escape if he came through that gap...

Suddenly the radio crackled again. Louder this time. Close enough to make Adrien jump. "Queen Bee's been spotted heading south, team B to head south, team A tail the fox east, team C, we've lost sight of Ladybug."

The cop cursed. He set off jogging down the path again. They stayed still as statues until his footsteps faded. The green boy stepped back and took his hand away. Adrien crumbled to the floor, gasping for air. Plagg trotted up to him to sit between him and the green boy, still hissing protectively. The boy limped further into the garden and hissed in pain.

"That was too close. Ladybug'll kill me when she finds out!" He hissed.

Adrien had a million questions but was still gasping for air to ease the burning in his lungs. His knees were jelly and he had no idea who the hell this was, but he was fairly certain that he wasn't the answer to his wish.

"Oh hell, dude, are you ok?"

Adrien looked up to see him staring down at him in mild concern. Adrien glared at him as he coughed repeatedly from being shoved roughly against a fence for what felt like an hour. The boy knelt down near him.

"I'm sorry dude, I didn't mean to hurt you. Do you want a drink or something?" He asked urgently.

He held out a bottle of water from his rucksack. Adrien snatched it with both hands and gulped like a hamster.

"Damn. I'm sorry. I thought I was gonna get caught! You saved me you know," He said, with a slight smirk.

Adrien shoved him back urgently. "You almost killed me!"

He blinked in surprised. "Oh wow, I did? Sorry man!"

"Sorry?" Adrien scoffed. He almost killed him, and he thought sorry - _sorry_ \- was going to cut it.

"Yeah dude, sorry man. Too much adrenaline. Speaking of I have to ride that pain killer home before my foot drops off."

He started limping back towards the hole in the fence and Adrien began to fear that maybe, just maybe, he was the answer to his wishes and he was getting away.

"Wait- who are you?!" Adrien demanded.

The boy laid a hand on the fence for support and turned to frown at him in confusion. He straightened up to make himself look stronger. "What'd you mean who am I? I'm Carapace!"

Adrien wrinkled his nose, "Who?!"

Carapace raised an eyebrow that vanished into the shadow of his baseball cap. "You really don't know?"

Adrien shook his head, innocently. Carapace smirked. It was strange to find someone who hadn't heard of them or their campaign already by now, and yet here he was. Someone who could see him, in his turtle outfit, and not know or understand who he was. Carapace smirked.

"I'll tell you what, it's too long to explain now. Come to this address-" he paused to scribble an address on Adrien's wrist with a pen from one of his many pockets before continuing, "tomorrow morning, dressed as a cat - got that? A _cat_ \- and I'll explain everything."

Adrien's jaw dropped a little and he wasn't sure entirely what was happening, or why, but he was more wrapped up with, "A cat? How am I supposed to-"

"Look at me. I'm an injured turtle with no time to explain! Just dress as a cat and come here tomorrow," Carapace said.

"But-"

"Till tomorrow whiskers!"

Adrien tried to stop him, but his mind was jumbled full of questions that he wanted answers to, so he couldn't find a way to articulate them before he was too far away to hear. Adrien stared at the now empty gap in the fence. He licked his lips nervously as he glanced back up at his father's shadows.

"Plagg? I think I've made a mistake."

...

Nathalie found the gap in the fence and decided that this was a cry for freedom that could not go unpunished. She marched Adrien up to his father's study and left him outside to stew for twenty minutes before his father beckoned him inside. His office was dull and dark and full of butterflies. A window shaped as a large purple butterfly lit the room with lilac light, with a spotlight around his desk. Portraits of Adrien and his family lined the room, shaded by the darkness of the edges, and shelves full of books gathered dust against the walls. The intimidating room was long, and the closer he came to the desk the more intimidating it felt. Adrien hated it up here. His father was staring through the window out over the city.

"F-father? Nathalie sent me," Adrien said, anxiously.

"Yes. About the hole in the fence," Gabriel curled the words on his tongue with disdain. "You want to go outside."

Adrien curled back in on himself like a fearful hedgehog, staring down as if there was something interesting on his shoe. "It's just that-"

Gabriel sighed and took his seat, still yet to look at his son, "I always knew this day was coming. I knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest. One day you can. Today is not that day."

"But-" Adrien began, quietly.

"One way or another something will go wrong. Akumas, thugs, those vigilante street fighters! There are diseases and kidnappers out there. On your own, you won't survive," Gabriel said, so firmly that it silenced Adrien immediately. Adrien shifted uncomfortable. He felt himself sinking lower under his father's disappointment. Gabriel lifted his pen and pulled forward some paperwork to sign. "Say your mantra."

"Oh but Father-" Adrien whined.

His father slammed his hand on the desk and made Adrien jump. Gabriel's voice lowered dangerously. "Say. Your. Mantra."

Adrien bowed his head, and quietly repeated the same mantra that had been drilled into him since as long as he could remember. "The world is cruel and wicked. In this whole city our only friends, the only people I can trust, are Nathalie and you."

"Precisely," Gabriel eased mildly, and leaned back in his chair. "How can I protect you, son, unless you stay in here? Always in here?"

Adrien wrapped an arm around his stomach nervously and whispered, "I just wanna go outside for a day papa... just one..."

Gabriel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, making his glasses rise. "You don't understand. You're too young."

Adrien sighed heavily, and his shoulders sagged heavily. Gabriel rolled his eyes in the shadows. He stood up, edged around he desk, and laid a hand on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien felt the warmth of the touch run thick and sweet through his veins, like honey. He raised his head to meet his father's gaze. After all, his father was all he had, and it had been a long time since he made any real contact. Gabriel still looked stern, and his voice didn't change from its intimidating firmness, even mildly.

"Out there they will hate and scorn and jeer at you. Stay in here. Grateful to me. Do as I say. Obey

me. Stay in here. Safe behind these windows and walls of stone, where no akuma can find or take you. Do you understand Adrien?"

Adrien was desperate to keep arguing. He still wanted his freedom for one day, just one... One day wasn't a big risk. But his father worried. And he wasn't a man to argue with. Especially when he was using that tone. Adrien didn't want to worry him anymore. He didn't want to be a disappointment. Instead he bowed his head and sighed.

"Yes father."

Almost immediately Gabriel raised his hand from Adrien's shoulder, and wiped it on his pocket handkerchief. Adrien glanced at the portrait of his mother hanging on the wall where the most light gathered in the room, like a spotlight. Inside his chest his heart ached.

Adrien had been in the city once before, for a celebration that took over the entire city. It was a carnival of colour, and a festival of fools, with red white and blue confetti, balloons and bunting everywhere he could see. Music filled the air and screams of laughter were the lyrics. Adrien danced until his feet ached, and ate until he threw up blue icing, and screamed until his voice vanished. When he was exhausted and thrilled, and full of the joys of life, his mother scooped him up into her arms, and cradled him close. She was warm and soft and smelt like candyfloss. She carried him all the way back to the mansion, as he gazed around, taking in everything he could before his heavy eyelids got the best of him.  
No one worried about anyone taking her away. No one worried about Hawkmoth ruining the day. No one worried about anything. It was a wonderful day. One Adrien wished he could remember more of.  
When his father found out he was furious. Adrien woke up in the dead of night to hear his parents screaming at one another. It was so long ago now but he could still hear the door slam downstairs. He could still see his mother storm down the garden path from his bedroom window. He could still see her slip through the gates that he could never manage to open.  
He just never saw her come back.  
Or at all after that.

Adrien's heart was like an anchor weighing him down. He didn't want to leave his father. He didn't want him to be alone. But he was so desperate for another breath of the freedom his mother had shown him, that he could feel his lungs burning for it.

"Adrien?" Gabriel said, calmly.

Adrien turned back and blinked in surprise. "Yes father?"

His father picked up his pen again and returned to his paper work. "Are you still here?"

"Y-yes father."

"Then don't be."

Without another word, Adrien hung his head, and dragged his feet out of the door obediently. He wandered slowly back to his room, and Plagg came trotting up the stairs to wind his way around Adrien's feet. Adrien glanced down at him, and spotted Nathalie at the bottom of the stairs. Their eyes met for one, tentative moment. Then she moved on like she didn't care that she'd gotten him into trouble again. Adrien groaned at the back of his throat in frustration. He shoved open his bedroom door and slammed it shut behind him, narrowly avoiding Plagg's tail.

"Watch it!" The cat howled.

"Sorry," Adrien muttered.

He stomped to the other side of the room to rest his head on the bars that crossed his window. Gazing out, he could just about see the people down below him over the edge of the fence. All these years he'd gotten used to watching them from here, as he hid away alone, hungry for their company. Any company. None of them would ever know him though. Not all the while he stayed here.

"All my life I've wondered how it'd feel to spend a day, just a day, not above them, but as part of them. _outside_ of these fences, out there in the sun! What I'd give for just one day to treasure every moment out there by the Seine! Just... just one day..." hot angry tears welled in the edges of his eyes.

Plagg hopped up onto the computer char beside him. "Then take it."

"I can't Plagg! I'll never make it past Nathalie," Adrien sighed.

"You could if you tried. Wake up early, really early, crack of dawn early, before she arrives, and sneak out dressed as a cat," Plagg said, pointedly.

"I don't even have a cat outfit," Adrien argued.

"Use your clothes," Plagg shrugged.

"That won't make me look like a cat!"

"He didn't look much like a turtle!"

Once again Adrien cried out in frustration. If his mother was still around they could go out together, but his father would never allow him to go alone. But dressing up as a cat, pretending to be one of those kids running down the street, no one would know who he really was. No one would know it was the first time he got to go out properly. It wasn't like anyone out there would care.  
No one but the akumas anyway...  
He wanted to go outside by any means possible. The only possible way to escape was through dress up. It could be fun. It would be freedom. Rare as that was, it wasn't something he wanted to miss. Plagg pawed at him gently.

"What was that guy's name, Chat Blanc? Look some photos up online for some ideas. I'll bet you can be better than him," he purred.

Adrien frowned. "But-"

Plagg didn't let him finish. He sounded too logical. "What harm can a look do?"

It took a while to click through all the images to find one of his full outfit but when Adrien did, he felt even less certain about what to do. The hoodie was similar to the bees. It was black from his collar to his torso, with thick white strips fading in along his sides beneath his arms, and in triangles across his shoulders. The white stretched up to his hood, with pointy cat ears on top. Between his hood, white eye mask, and white scarf covering his face, there was evidence of black hair with purples streaks of dye that matched his electric purple eyes. A long white scarf was tied around his waist like a belt, but trailed down like a tail, like that fox girls. His boots though, they were the kind of bulky ninety's boots that were becoming popular again, and apart from their soles and laces which were black, were bleach white. Adrien had never seen that guy before, but from the look of the others around them, he appeared to be their leader.

"This is a bad idea Plagg," Adrien whined, pushing his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, you don't have that many white clothes. Why don't you wear black?! You can be Chat Noir! Then if Chat Blanc comes back you're not stepping on anyone's toe beans," Plagg chuckled.

"That's not what I meant," Adrien sighed.

"Adrien. This'll work. Just for one day. A day to treasure forever," Plagg said, calmly, and seriously.

Adrien ran his hand through his hair again and sighed, "Dad'll kill me."

"Purrhaps," Plagg shrugged, his tail flicking slowly. "Or purrhaps you'll find someone who'll make it all worth it. How can you expect to find someone who loves you if you don't go looking for one?"

Adrien glanced at him for a moment, and then back to the computer in front of him. Even Chat Blanc stood there with his hand out, as if he were offering him the chance himself. And he was their leader. Everything he needed to get everything he wanted was right in front of him.

"All I have to do... is find that outfit... in black?" Adrien wrinkled his nose.

"That's it! And you've got a full walk in wardrobe of clothes, we can find something!" Plagg beamed.

"Let's look then," Adrien grinned.

"That's the spirit! Come on!" Plagg leapt off of the desk and trotted over to the walk-in wardrobe.

Adrien followed him quickly. Both of them started trotting as the excitement built up inside. This was a great escape! All they had to do was build a costume. This could be fun! He pulled open the sliding door and found the long narrow room crammed full of shirts hanging on railings, and jackets hung behind them. Hats were on pegs in the middle, opposite racks of shoes, which sat beneath cupboards. Adrien flicked on the lights which illuminated the room and a stage room mirror lined by lightbulbs. One look at this wardrobe and you'd realise how much Adrien had. How much he'd lose by leaving. But Adrien didn't know any of that, he just knew one thing.  
He needed out.

"What'd you think of this shirt, it's close enough to his right?" Adrien asked Plagg uncertainly.

"Sure," Plagg shrugged from where he was curled up on top of an old pair of cowboy boots. Adrien had long since outgrown.

"What'd you mean by sure? Good sure or close enough sure or -"

"Adrien, I'm a cat, I have no idea."

Adrien was pulling his hair in so much confusion that it was getting more and more unkempt by the minute. He tore through the amount of clothes he had, throwing everything black put of his wardrobe and into his main room. Everything black went in, carpeting his floor like someone had split a can of paint on it. After a while he couldn't even find Plagg. He separated the clothes into piles. Everything that was too fancy - the blazers, the suits, the waistcoats - were thrown aside. Anything that didn't fit anymore - shoes he hadn't worn since he was three, moth eaten jackets, a shirt covered in paint - was thrown aside too. That's when he decided he really needed to clean out his wardrobe, but that could wait. Right now he was on a mission.

"Does this shirt match Plagg?" Adrien asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Plagg yawned.

"Are you just saying that so I let you sleep again?" Adrien asked.

"Yes," Plagg yawned again.

"Alright, go back to sleep, I can deal with this alone," Adrien promised.

"Good," Plagg nestled his chin back on his paws.

Adrien picked up a random black shirt, and the first black jacket that came to hand. Working this way, just grabbing and layering black on black, he ended up looking like a ninja. Every time he readjusted his outfit, it didn't look much better. Eventually he ended up with a black hoodie, black jeans, black converse, and nothing remotely cat like at all. Especially not Chat Blanc like. But it was too late. If he waited any longer, Nathalie would arrive and stop him.  
Adrien's chest was hollow apart from his vibrating heart, his legs were numb, and his mind was racing. Everything in him screamed that this was a mistake and there was no way he could get away with this. To prevent his sweating smudging the address on his arm, he scribbled it down on a note pad and tore out the page. He paused to scratch Plagg behind the ear.

"Wish me luck buddy," he whispered.

Plagg, in a deep cat nap, purred softly. Adrien smiled affectionately. Not bringing this ball of warm fur was going to be tough since he didn't want to leave him, but Adrien didn't know the streets. It'd be safer for Plagg to stay here.  
Besides, it'd only be one day, right?

Adrien edged out towards the garden. It was so early the sky was still caught somewhere between black and blue, and the sun was yet to rise. The early morning chill ruffled his still messy hair. He breathed it in carefully. The last breath of captivity...  
Adrien crept quickly and quietly across the garden. There was nothing catlike about this. He was just running, with very little subtly, and a drum thundering in his chest. Suddenly he stopped dead and stared at the gap in the fence...

This was crazy right? Running away from the safety of his mansion, from his father's love, for a day in a city he didn't know?

The longer he stood here, the more his mind told him how ridiculous this was... Everything he was risking, it wasn't worth it... His father would be furious. Nathalie would treat him with contempt. She wasn't exactly the most caring person most of the time, but when she was mad at him...  
No this was insane.  
He couldn't just _leave_!  
Adrien took a step back. His knees were buckling, and his stomach was crammed so full of butterflies that he felt like throwing up.

 _DONG. DONG. DONG_.

The distant sound of cathedral bells shook through Adrien. Carried on the same wind that ruffled his hair and took his breath, the sweet sound filled his ears.

 _First, the vibration of each bell mounts straight upwards, pure and, so to speak, isolated from the others, into the splendid morning sky; then, little by little, as they swell they melt together, mingle, are lost in each other, and amalgamate in a magnificent concert. It is no longer anything but a mass of sonorous vibrations incessantly sent forth from the numerous belfries; floats, undulates, bounds, whirls over the city, and prolongs far beyond the horizon the deafening circle of its oscillations. Nevertheless, this sea of harmony is not a chaos; great and profound as it is, it has not lost its transparency; you behold the windings of each group of notes which escapes from the belfries_

If Adrien had ever been permitted to read Victor Hugo, he may have felt a kinship with poor Quasimodo in the towers of Notre Dame. Perhaps, on some level, he did feel it, for those bells drew him forward. Those bells silenced the doubt in his head, filling him instead with curiosity and awe. Adrien reached the gap in the fence and rested a damp palm on the wood. He glanced back up at the butterfly window above him. This early his father wouldn't be there yet. Adrien still had time if he left now.  
He took a deep breath of the cold, captive air. Then he yanked up his hood, and slipped through the fence, onto the street beyond.


	2. Chapter 2

Even the air smelt different out here. Like freshly baked bread still hot enough from the oven to make your mouth water. Granted that may be because of The Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie on the corner of the street. Adrien sniffed the air with such delight it almost made him remember that he hadn't eaten all morning and wasn't likely to when he got home either. Yet another reason to turn back to safety. Still he pressed on.  
Much to his surprise when he tried to push the bakery door open, it rattled and stayed shut. He blinked, bewildered. That's when he spotted a sign in the window declaring that they were shut. He whined softly. He glanced back down the street. It was still early but there were a few people around. Clearly, they were heading off to work or coming home from a hard nights drinking. One of them must know somewhere food was available.

"Excuse me-"

The first-person Adrien reached out to kept walking. Adrien blinked in surprise but assumed it was because of how gravely his voice was. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Excuse me-"

Not only did he keep walking, he tugged at his collar as he hurried past, ignoring Adrien twice. Adrien's stomach grumbled. One more person was heading this way, so he tried to change tact.

"Sir-"

Maybe it was just the way of the men in the city to ignore other people. Maybe his own father wasn't neglectful, just a man of the city. That certainly eased Adrien's worries, but it didn't make him feel any better. That's when he saw an older lady pottering this way in a long frock - for it was a vintage dress and "dress" didn't quiet cover it's magnitude - and a stern face that was almost as stern as Natalie's.

"Sorry to bother you-"

He still went ignored. Maybe all women were stern around here. Maybe Natalie's was just one of the people too! Maybe everyone in this city was miserable. Maybe that's why his mother had to leave. He wished more than ever that she'd taken him too. Although this was nothing like the raging street party full of life and laughter and colour that his mother had taken him to when he was young... Those people seemed constantly delighted. Full of joy! There had to be some of them left. Probably wrapped up in bed, sleeping their way to happiness. A few, brilliantly fun people, ready to whisk him off on an adventure!

Like the Cathedral bells perhaps. They were joyous shining musical instruments wrapped away, unseen, in the dark and gloomy shadows of a gothic Cathedral...

Adrien looked down at the piece of paper in his hand with the address written on it. He whispered to himself as if he were still talking to Plagg, "Maybe he'll have food... if I can find him that is..."

"Excuse me young man-" A warm and velvety voice from behind him made him jump. That was followed by a warm and velvety chuckle. "Very sorry to startle you, I just wanted to know what you're doing."

Adrien turned to see a very tall very wide man with a bushy moustache and a smile that curved like a banana, wearing an apron and a chef's hat like a big white muffin.

'"D-doing? I'm not d-doing any - anything," he insisted.

"I'm sorry, but you're standing on my doorstep harassing passers-by, there must be a reason for it, right?" Tom asked, gently.

"Oh, um, yeah, I uh... I'm trying to find somewhere..." Adrien tightened his grip on the address.

Tom wiped his hands on his apron thoughtfully. "Somewhere specific?"

"I'm meeting a fri-" Adrien stopped himself. It was too early to call him friend. "I'm meeting someone, but I left before breakfast and I thought I'd get some food but you're all I can find and you're shut."

"Oh yeah? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Tom said, pointedly.

Adrien wasn't entirely sure what to say. No one had ever talked to him this long before, not without a point. Tom appeared to be seizing him up. Adrien felt a little uncomfortable.

"How are you going to pay? Cash or credit card?" Tom asked, calmly.

Adrien blinked in surprise. "P-pay?"

"You can pay?" Tom repeated.

"Um... no..." Adrien muttered, shifting uncomfortably.

"No one'll give you something without money," Tom warned.

"Oh... really? That's... oh... I'll just uh... go then," Adrien gulped.

Tom didn't move as he watched him turn away. This child was roughly the same age as his daughter, and unlike his daughter, he seemed lost and confused about how the world around him was working. There was an air of naive innocence around him, like there should be around children like him. Not like there actually was these days. Children knew too much now. Tom took a deep breath.

"Wait."

Adrien turned back in confusion. Tom reached across to the display case to his left. He picked up a couple of warm bread rolls and glanced back at Adrien. Adrien met his gaze uncertainly. Tom grabbed a plastic bag, and dropped the rolls inside, before holding them out to Adrien.

"Here. I don't wanna see a growing boy go hungry," Tom said, seriously.

Adrien gasped in delight and took them eagerly, "Thanks! Thanks so much!"

"Go on, don't keep your friend waiting," Tom ushered Adrien on.

Adrien nodded eagerly, and hurried away, beaming over his shoulder. "Thank you!"

Tom chuckled to himself as he shut the bakery door again. Marinette shook her head hopelessly at her father and tossed her midnight blue pigtail over her shoulder with a sigh. Tom turned to look at his precious daughter in her little apron with her arms folded, leaning against the doorway.

"We're never gonna make money if you keep giving food away like that Papa," she said.

"One good turn will cause another my little bug," Tom explained, calmly. "Your mother always believed in karma."

"Mama believed in a lot of things," Marinette argued.

"Be the good you want to see in the universe Mari. The cause and effect is what makes the universe keep turning. By being good people, good things will happen to us, just like your mother always said," Tom said with a firm nod.

"She still got taken away though," Marinette muttered underneath her breath so he wouldn't hear her, but he did.

He frowned at her with disapproval and said, firmly, "Just because we lost her doesn't mean we can turn our backs on people who need our help."

Marinette hung her head in shame. "I know papa. I'm sorry."

Tom laid a hand on her shoulder and sighed as he pulled her forward into a gentle hug. "It's ok Mari. Just because your mothers not around anymore doesn't mean her lessons aren't. I won't let you forget what she's taught you."

"Papa I won't! I could never forget what she's taught me!" Marinette was appalled at mere suggestion.

"I know, my little bug," Tom whispered, and leaned down to kiss her hair gently, "I know."

Marinette breathed in the smell of her father. Sweat, flour and fresh bread. It was safe here in his arms. He was huge, easily big enough to be a wrestler, strong enough too, and yet he was soft as a teddy bear. Marinette felt bad for having to go out so early. Both of them knew he'd been up most of the night before he had to get up, and she'd barely have time to help him open before she had to run and meet her friends. Usually he'd have her mother to help him set up and deal with the customers while he made more stock. Now Marinette was all the help he had, and between school work and her friends, she barely had time to help him. Lack of sleep didn't help either of them, but there wasn't enough time in the day for sleep and everything else.

"I promise I'll be hope soon, and I'll help you find someone to help out around here," Marinette insisted as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder.

Tom chuckled and scratched his head tiredly, "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"Not a clue, but I must have done something similar," she said.

"Stay safe. Watch out for those vandal vigilantes!" He warned as she headed to the door.

"Don't worry, they'd never cause me any problems," she faced away so he wouldn't see her smirk.

"Just be careful. I love you," he said.

She hovered in the doorway to look back at him as she nodded, "I love you too Papa."

Marinette flipped the sign to save open before letting the door slam shut with her on the other side. She waved to her father through the window and set off down the street alone. Tom sighed to himself.

He hoped with all he had to hope with, that this wouldn't be the last time that he got to see his daughter.

...

Adrien was lost. It wasn't a surprise, the very moment he stepped through that fence he was lost. But right now, he was more lost than ever. Nothing sound him looked even remotely families and he was relying on the phone map to take him where he needed to go. Mostly he was hoping that he'd spot someone he recognised, Carapace or one of the girls, and they'd take pity enough on him to show him where he needed to go. After all it was Carapace that led him here. Wherever here was. By now Adrien was just eating one of the rolls and wandering around in the vague direction he thought he had to go. That's when he heard a rattle down a dark alley.  
Anyone else would have assumed the worst of this alley. It was dull and dirty and looked like the sort of place that you'd find a corpse hidden under a mattress. Adrien, however, was naive. He was all alone on the streets when he heard a sound and decided to investigate. Adrien's footsteps suddenly started to echo as he wandered into the alley.  
The sound stopped...  
Adrien could see a shadowy figure behind a dumpster. They were frozen to the spot.  
Usually now the hairs on the back of your neck would rise and you'd realise this was a dangerous place to be and quickly leave. But Adrien paid no attention to his hair suddenly standing on end. He didn't think anything of the dull sick feeling in the pit of his stomach either.

His voice shook despite him not being aware of his fear. "Carapace?"

"Who are you?" A voice asked darkly.

"M-me?" Adrien stammered, suddenly feeling the nerve.

"I don't see anyone else here," the voice snarled.

Adrien gulped back his fear and said, as loudly as he could, which wasn't very loud but still echoed, "I'm looking for Carapace."

The figure loomed forward and Adrien was beginning to wonder why he hadn't thought to run yet. He considered running now and not stopping till he was safely back through his fence, but his feet didn't seem to want to move. Carapace loomed from the darkness and Adrien gasped. Carapace's face suddenly flickered with recognition, and he grinning.

"Oh wow! hey dude! I didn't think you'd really come!" He laughed.

Adrien almost collapsed with relief. It was Carapace! It was safety. Or close enough to it. Adrien grinned back at him. "I did though! I'm here to find out more about your gang and join you. To help!"

Carapace kept his smile but his face fell. "Yeah... err, I dunno if you'll be comfortable here dude."

Adrien's face fell slowly. "Why not?"

"See my friends - They're kinda rough around the edges. They look tough and they act it, but..." Carapace glanced over his shoulder like he was afraid someone would come around it and hear him. He lowered his voice. "We're not the kinda people who let things go. It might just be safer for you if you walk away."

Adrien had come all this way. He'd gone against his father, and he'd left Plagg all alone. The only food inside of him was a dry bread roll a stranger had given him. No one else had been kind so far, but he assumed it was part of the adventure. But if Carapace was telling him to go away, then this was it. The adventure ended here. And there wasn't much of a story in it.

With nothing in him but determination, Adrien argued back, "Dude, I don't think you quite realize what you got here! let me illuminate the possibilities!"

"Oi vey." Carapace rubbed his forehead and sighed. Fortunately for Adrien he enjoyed a show, no matter how cringe-y. "Go on."

"Dude you're in luck, 'cause with me you've got some power in your corner now, some heavy ammunition in your camp!" Adrien declared, putting his hands on his hips like some kind of superhero.

Unfazed by his hero pose, Carapace folded his arms and asked, bluntly. "How?"

Adrien's chest deflated. "H-how?"

"Yeah. How are you heavy ammunition?" Carapace asked.

"Cause I... well I... I mean I can- well I - I can try to-" Adrien stammered.

Carapace sighed. He patted Adrien's arm apologetically. "I'm sorry if I got your hopes up, but I don't think you have what we're looking for."

Carapace walked straight past him and out towards the road. Adrien cried but only sound came out. Carapace turned and raised a baffled eyebrow.

"No wait! Come on! Just - just whisper what it is you want and I'll show you how I can do it!" Adrien begged.

"No, see dude, we pride ourselves on service. we need a boss, a king, a Chat Blanc! Not some guy dressed in black. You don't even look like a cat," Carapace pointed out.

Adrien ached to prove him wrong but he had no idea what to say or how to prove what he had to say. "But- but I'm special! you ain't never had friend like me!"

"Oh my," Carapace groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath and said, "No."

"Please?!" Adrien begged.

"No."

"I can try at least! Give me a chance! I can do anything you want!"

Carapace scowled. He was certain that this boy, the one who lived behind nine-foot fences, could not do anything they could. "Can you do this?"

Adrien watched in awe as Carapace took a running jump at the wall to their left and bounced off of it, to bounce off of the wall on their right, and land on a lamp hanging out of the wall above them. Then he latched on a hold and swung himself up onto the lower roof of the building behind them.

"Can you do that?" Carapace called down do flabbergasted Adrien. "Can you quickly disappear?"

Adrien had seen Plagg move as fluidly as that before. With Cat like grace. Adrien could beat the majority of Paris in fencing which meant moving fluidly, and yet he couldn't imagine having that much grace with it. but grace was over rated. It would come with practice. Right now, all he had to do, was get the jump down. Flare could come later. Adrien pushed up his sleeves and rubbed his hands together determinedly. He didn't have a rock climbing wall in his bedroom for nothing!  
Carapace watched with interest as Adrien threw himself against the wall. It seemed like a very idiotic plan, but Adrien was sticking to it. determined or stubborn? Only success would tell.  
Through sheer stubborn determination and great rock climbing skills, Adrien dragged himself up the walls. There wasn't very many foot holds but Adrien made do. he used the flats of the bricks to push himself on. The lack of handles was a problem though. grappling at flat bricks scratched up his fingers, and he knew his father would not be pleased. This manicure was expensive! The higher they went; the less bricks were loose. There wasn't even as much crumbling cement holds to cling to. He reached the lamp, and he got stuck. Carapace reached out a hand.

"do you trust me?" he asked.

Adrien blinked at him. he glanced back down. It was a long fall… onto concrete… Adrien felt something in the pit of his stomach he only ever felt when he was standing in front of his father's desk. Fear. He glanced at Carapace's outstretched hand. He'd never met him before, not properly, and he was supposed to have a hurt foot, right? but he scaled this wall no problem. What if he was lying?

"I need an answer dude," Carapace warned.

Adrien gulped. He latched onto the bar holding out the lamp and swung himself forward to reach Carapace's hand. Carapace latched on tight and dragged him up with a force you could almost describe as protective. Adrien's heart beat hard as he glanced down at the ground that seemed to be miles down beneath him. he barely registered that Carapace's hand was still entwined with his, until his other hand clapped around Adrien's shoulder.

"You ok?" he smirked.

"Yeah, yeah…" Adrien breathed. He took his hand back, and muttered, his ears getting hot at the physical touch he wasn't used to. "sorry."

Carapace smirked. he clapped his shoulder again, playfully, "Alright come on."

Adrien blinked at him, obviously shaken up at having to trust him still. "Huh?"

"We're gonna have to do a lot of work with you, but it'll be cool to see if we can pull it off," Carapace said, glancing up and down to seize up Adrien's outfit.

Adrien stood beside him, staring at him, utterly baffled. " _huh_?!"

"Don't just sit there, slack-jawed and buggy-eyed, we've got work to do!" Carapace huffed.

"We do?" Adrien repeated, confused.

"Yes. We do. I'm here to answer all your prayers. I don't know what it is but I've got a powerful urge to help you out, and I really wanna know how it ends up, so yeah. We've got work," Carapace nodded.

"You'll help?" Adrien's confusion turned to surprise.

Carapace shrugged with a smirk. "What can I say? _you_ ain't never had a friend like _me_."

"You'll help!" Adrien beamed in utter delight. Maybe the adventure wasn't over just yet.

"Well you did help me yesterday so I kinda owe you. First, we gotta get rid of this. You gotta really look like a cat if you wanna stay. Come _on_!" Carapace practically dragged him across the roof to the rose climb like a ladder at the other end.

Adrien was internally freaking out. Carapace could just grab him like that! Just... touch him. Even his father dealt with touches like ice cream for breakfast. Only for special occasions, and practically banned since his mother left. Maybe that was his fault. After all he drove his parents apart by constantly begging to leave. He didn't deserve to be touched.  
But Carapace just didn't _care_!  
He didn't know.  
Adrien was toxic and untouchable.  
Adrien felt guilty. He should tell Carapace that. But it felt so _nice_ that someone wasn't afraid of touching him. That he treated him so kindly. It wasn't fair to carapace to keep this secret when even his father knew not to touch, but he just wanted a little longer... it was selfish, but he was desperate.  
They came to a stop behind the shops on the high street, in yet another dull alley, lined with dozens of dumpsters, each crammed with waste from each shop on the high street behind them.

"Here we are, drop and shop," Carapace grinned.

Adrien wrinkled his nose, "Bin diving?"

"Boy if you don't like this you won't like where we hang out," Carapace smirked.

That didn't inspire any confidence in Adrien. "Really?"

"Total junkyard," Carapace nodded.

"Ew. Why?"

"One man's junk is another man's treasure. And this-" Carapace bet down and snatched something out of the bin, holding it up with pride, "is your treasure!"

Adrien tilted his head to look at the buckle covered leather strap with confusion. "A belt?"

"A _tail_ ," Carapace said, firmly.

"Like that girls!" Adrien gasped.

"Rena Rouge?" Carapace couldn't hide his smile.

"Um, the fox?"

"That's her!"

Adrien chuckled at the way Carapace lit up at the chance to talk about his friends. He didn't have anything like that. He wanted it. Someone who lit up at the chance to talk about him. It was the purest kind of friendship he'd ever seen.  
For the next five minutes Carapace gave Adrien the low down on his friends. How Ladybug was acting as their leader right now so she was kinda tough but a bunny underneath it all. How Rena was a huge flirt but not to take it seriously, she just liked to prove she could do it better than you. How Queen Bee gave herself that name for a reason, it matched her attitude. How Chat Blanc had recently been taken by an akuma and Ladybug was taking it a little harder than everyone else so not to get on her bad side or ask too many questions.

"And above all, do not tell anyone your real name. You are Chat Noir. You have no other name. We have no other names either. You can't let anyone know otherwise for their safety and yours. Got it?" Carapace warned.

"Sure, absolutely!" Adrien nodded firmly.

This was perfect. He could do anything he liked here, and his father would never find out he was part of them because they wouldn't know his name! No one was looking for Adrien yet (it wasn't time for his piano lessons this afternoon and no one paid attention to him until then) so Chat Noir had plenty of time to make a name for himself!

"Apart the fact you have no ears, you're perfect!" Carapace declared.

"Really?" Adrien said, uncertainly.

There were no mirrors in this alley full of dumpsters behind busy retail stores for some reason, but Adrien could feel the belt buckles bash against his buttocks, and he felt foolish. Carapace insisted he didn't look it, but he was currently dressed as a turtle with a rucksack for a shell so Adrien wasn't entirely convinced.

"Stay still, let me tie this on for you," Carapace grabbed a black eye mask from said rucksack, which he carried spare just in case.

Adrien took an urgent step back as he advanced. "Whoa, do I have to wear that?"

"See the whole thing of a secret identity is that it's secret. You need to cover your face so no one will recognise you," Carapace said, pointedly.

"But no one would recognise me anyway!"

"Even your parents?"

Adrien wasn't convinced a mask that covered his upper cheeks, nose, and the space around his eyes would hide his identity enough that he mother wouldn't recognise him. However, he also didn't know where his mother was. She probably wasn't even in Paris anymore. And his father? Well he wasn't entirely convinced his father would notice if he was replaced with a brunette girl if their grades were the same. Maybe this skimpy mask would be enough. Carapace tied the eye mask tight at the back of Adrien's messy blonde mop, before Adrien yanked his hood back into place. Between the mask and the shadow of the hood, Adrien's face was effectively hidden.

"Do you think they'll accept me now?" Adrien asked uncertainly.

"Who know? They're a fickle bunch sometimes. God I'm hungry," Carapace groaned as the scents of the café down the road spilled out over the powerful smell of the bins.

"Here, do you want this?" Adrien asked, holding out the bag with the last roll in it.

"What is it?" Carapace asked.

"Just bread," Adrien promised.

"Better than nothing. Thanks dude," Carapace grinned.

"No problem. Dude," Adrien filled with warmth at the term.

Carapace smiled but he looked entirely baffled by Adrien. If he had known Adrien's back story, Adrien's innocent eagerness would have made more sense to him. As it was, he just assumed that Adrien was excited about the prospect of joining the gang.

"We've got like ten minutes to get to base - follow me and keep up," Carapace declared.

Adrien had assumed they'd walk to this base. He wasn't far wrong, he just didn't think that the walk would involve rooftops. When Carapace went swinging up the drainpipe like he'd been trained to parkour, Adrien realised that it definitely would.  
They ended up on a roof on the edge of the city. Carapace pointed to a great fenced off area a little further on.

"That's the junkyard down there," he explained.

Adrien's eyes widened, "you were serious?!"

"Hell yeah! All my mates are waiting down there," Carapace grinned.

Peering down on the junkyard below them, Adrien blinked in surprise. He wasn't entirely sure what he expected from a junkyard but he definitely wasn't expecting a wall built up of cubed cars lining the back fence. More cars were left wrecked in piles waiting to be crushed, but they, like the rest of the junkyard, and been abandoned. The sun glinted off of the windows and mirrors that were piled at angles and balanced like jenga pieces. One wrong move and it would all come tumbling down. They could see the tiny brightly coloured dots wandering around the area already.

"They're already waiting. Ladybug'll have a fit if I'm late, she's already worried about my leg! Come on, we gotta go faster!" Carapace said.

He grabbed Adrien and dragged him onwards, to slide down the edge of roof till they were close enough to leap down to the bungalow below. Adrien's heart was in his throat when he landed on the roof. His knees were weak and his head was light with dizziness. If this was what adventures were like, he wasn't sure he wanted to carry on with this one. It felt too much like needed to throw up. Carapace leapt down onto the ground and was rather surprised to see that Adrien hadn't followed.

"Jump. I'll catch you!" He called.

"Is this another trust test?" Adrien called uncertainly.

"What have you got to worry about? Cat's always land on their feet!" Carapace teased.

Adrien was not enjoying this running and leaping and trusting that he'd be caught. But he was stubborn. He was going to meet the rest of the gang if it killed him. That was looking increasingly likely. But carapace did catch him, and they entered the junkyard together.  
The wall of cars was so much higher from down here. On this side of it, he could see how they lived. It wasn't too bad either. There was a couple of sofas, albeit broken, to sit on, and well-worn mattresses gave an air of comfort even if the stains left a lot to be desired. They had dragged drawers and wardrobes down so they could hide things away if need be, and they were set up around the space that the costumed teens were currently lounging in. Queen Bee was laying across a shabby looking sofa that was worn in places but seemed to be the only sofa without holes.

"You can sit on these things?" Adrien wrinkled his nose.

"That one used to be Chat's. His brother was throwing it out so we took it. At least we know we can sit on one y'know?" Carapace shrugged.

"Sure..." Adrien didn't know and wasn't sure he could ever imagine sitting on one of those chairs.

Carapace shrugged as if could read his mind, "You'll learn."

Adrien gazed about, half in surprise and half in awe, trying to decide if he was impressed or horrified by their hide out. It was the kind of place he'd expect to find a bunch of animals, but not _these_ kinds of animals. It was intelligent. Hide where no human would look. Where animals would hide. But they _weren't_ animals and it made him a little uncomfortable.  
And then he spotted her.  
He hadn't seen Ladybug properly before, she was busy running past at top speed. She was a red and black blur. Now he could see her he had to admit she was beautiful. Her midnight blue hair was pulled back into bunches with red ribbons, and her hood was pushed back to reveal her bluebell eyes that shone with laughter. Her light freckles countered the dark bags under her eyes. She was beautiful. Truly. Her face captured her emotions like the greatest artist. She was exhausted, but happy, because she was free. Adrien felt a burst of envy, which enticed him even more. A friend like that could change his life.

"You would have imagined her at one moment a maniac, at another a queen."

Adrien was snapped out of his thoughts by Carapace, almost defensively. He felt his ears heat up. He'd been staring.

"Sorry?" He muttered.

"You would have imagined her at one moment a maniac, at another a queen," Carapace repeated, almost dreamily. He wasn't paying much attention to Adrien now. His eyes were firmly fixed elsewhere. "Victor Hugo said it. I think it sums her up well, don't you?"

"Yes." Adrien answered instinctively. He always agreed with his father. But he wasn't entirely sure what was going on now. His gaze turned back to Ladybug. "Uh, who?"

"Rena. Queenie over there calls herself royal, but Rena... she's the real deal," Carapace really did sound dreamy now.

"Oh?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He'd met royalty before - his mother was supporting Prince Ali's children's charity and they'd hang out a little. He wondered if Rena was a relative. Her skin was caramel but other than that he saw no similarities.

"Queen of my heart anyway," Carapace shrugged.

"Oh." That was less interesting. Adrien grinned as a pun came to him. "Well she's pretty foxy!"

It slipped out. He was used to saying them to Plagg, who never responded, obviously, and the few times he'd risked saying one in front of his father or Nathalie, there was a moment pause before they ignored him. It was that silence that hurt more than any amount of time they spent ignoring him. Adrien tensed up, expecting to find himself in that silence, having given Carapace a reason to realise how unlovable he really was. What he didn't expect, was Carapace to throw his head back with laughter, and throw an arm around Adrien's shoulders.

"You're a punny dude. I like it!" Carapace beamed.

Adrien burned with pleasure. The ease of Carapace's touch, and the simplicity of him laughing, him _saying_ he liked it! Adrien hadn't known how empty he felt until he found this utter joy. Rena gasped and Carapace turned pink, which made Adrien chuckle.

"Shelly!" Rena cried in delight, dashing over.

"Carapace," he corrected uselessly.

" _shelly_ ," she repeated, with some affection as she stretched out her arms to bring him in to a hug.

Adrien smiled when Rena kissed each of Carapace's cheeks in turn, but his heart pounded when she kissed his. Then she stepped back and he automatically held out a hand for her to shake. She looked baffled. He blushed deeply. That was it. He'd ruined it now. They thought he was weird. He was done. He might as well go home.

Rena grabbed his hand with both of hers and pumped it eagerly. "Hey girl! I'm Rena Rouge! And you are?"

"Adri-" Adrien grunted as Carapace elbowed him roughly. "C-c-chat Noir!"

"Well C-C-Chat Noir," Rena giggled making her eyes sparkle and Chat Noir's ears pink. "Pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Carapace's is a complete idiot."

"What's that make you, bestie?" Carapace teased.

"World's biggest idiot," Rena beamed proudly.

"HA! AINT THAT RIGHT!" Queen Bee scoffed.

Rena pursed her lips, looked over her shoulder, and cooed, "And you, _honeybee_ , are a _royal_ idiot!"

"Pain in the arse too if that stingers anything to go by," Chat Noir said thought thinking.

All four of them snapped up in alarm and stared at him. All eight eyes board into him. He curled back into himself, trying not to grin as they burst into sound.

"OOOH!"

"BOOM!

"THAT SNAP THOUGH!"

Rena threw an arm around Chat Noir and yanked him closer to her chest, grinning at Carapace. "I like this one!"

Carapace grinned as Chat turned pink with pride and joy. His face fell when he saw the scowl Ladybug was sporting. She stood in front of Chat Noir, hands on her hips, scowling. She only came up to Chat's chin, and yet she had enough power in her to intimidate him.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded.

Rena pressed her chin against Chat's shoulder from behind him, and pleaded playfully "Ladybug, look, a stray kitty! Can we keep him?"

"Please?" Carapace begged too, a little less playfully though.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow. "A cat huh?"

"Chat Noir, my lady. At your service!" Adrien didn't realise he'd leaned down to kiss her knuckles until he was kissing her knuckles. At which point his cheeks turned scarlet behind his eye mask.

She wiped her hand on her shirt and said, firmly, "We already have a cat!"

"No one's trying to replace him," Carapace explained, calmly, trying not to be intimidated by her glare.

"Looks like you are!" Ladybug huffed.

"He's an entirely different cat! He's _Noir_ ," Carapace insisted.

"Then we'll be getting a tortoise when you leave," Ladybug said, sharply.

Carapace reeled back in alarm. "Harsh."

Adrien gulped, he stepped forward, full of apologies, "I don't mean to step on anybody's toe beans-"

"Good, you're not, because you're not staying," Ladybug said firmly.

Adrien shrunk back, feeling awkward and unwelcome. This wasn't the hero's welcome he was hoping for. Rena took his wrist gently, and pulled him behind her, defensively.

"Can't we put it to a vote?" she asked.

Ladybug wasn't an absolute ruler. She was just one of the gang who took over when Chat Blanc left. It was technically a dictatorship, and she couldn't argue with a vote.

"Fine. Queenie! Get your bee-hind over here!" Ladybug called.

Queen Bee groaned heavily as she pushed herself to her feet. She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and walked through the junkyard like she was a model on a catwalk. Adrien admired that. the ability to be comfortable and love yourself even in a place like this, was astounding. Then again, to him, the ability to be comfortable in yourself was astounding anyway. she wandered over, put a hand on her hip, and stood with all her weight on that leg, like she was posing. Bee's eyes flickered with recognition as she took in Chat Noir, but she couldn't place why. Chat shared a similar expression. None of the others noticed.

"all in favour of him staying?" ladybugs called.

There was no hesitation before Rena and Carapace both threw their hands in the air. Adrien felt a stir of warmth for them.

"all in favour of him going?" Ladybug asked.

Her hand rose as Rena and Carapace's fell. Queen Bee was still eyeing him, suspiciously.

"Bee, you didn't vote," Ladybug said.

"I'll vote after his test," she said.

"test? He's not doing a test, he's not staying," Ladybug argued.

"that's what you said about me, but Blanc let me do the test, and you voted me in, remember?" Bee argued.

Rena rose her hand to pretend to whisper to Chat Noir, "see? All carapace's friends are idiots!"

Bee glared at her. "I heard that."

"I wasn't being quiet!" Rena smirked.

"Maybe you should try it," Bee hissed.

"Maybe you should buzz off," Rena hissed back.

"Girls!" Ladybug warned.

"Come on, carapace needs this! He needs a guy to go to when he gets fed up of female company," Rena urged.

"Who gets fed up of female company?" Bee scoffed.

"It's difficult to gage," Carapace said, softly.

He went ignored, but Rena pushed Chat forward pointedly, "Come on, let the kid at least /try to be one of us! What'd you always say about kindness? Give a little, get a lot?"

"shut up Rena," Ladybug huffed.

Rena scoffed, "well that's not very kind, girl, is it?"

"I promise you my lady, I won't get in anybody's way. I just wanna help," Chat said, softly.

Ladybug took him in with a stubborn glare and folded her arms across her chest. "You wanna do the test?"

"I will do anything to prove myself," Adrien nodded eagerly.

"First things first, there's something you've gotta remember," Ladybug warned.

"Yeah?" he gulped as she leaned in closer.

A snarl curled the edges of her words, "I'm not your lady."

Chat stepped backwards, sheepishly. "Sorry Ladybug."

Ladybug hummed disapprovingly. She turned away and batted the air like she didn't care anymore. "let him do the test then."

The others cheered for him, since he now had the chance to join their group. That was enough to make Adrien grin. At least some of them wanted him there. but he couldn't shake another sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. A test meant they were going to see what he could do. Apart from climbing walls, that was nothing.

This test could be the end of him...


	3. Chapter 3

Ladybug yanked her hood up around her head as she glanced around the fences of the junkyard. She was to go first and make sure the coast was clear. Rena slipped out of the junkyard after her, her tail swishing like the scarf it really was as she rounded the corner.

"Where are they going?" Chat asked curiously.

"To find the tree," Bee said, yawning as she headed back to the sofa.

"The tree?" Chat repeated.

"Maybe they're getting ropes though," Carapace shrugged.

"Ropes? What's going on?" Chat asked.

"Well to be one of us…" carapace glanced back at Bee.

Carapace was expecting Bee to join in and joke to Chat with him so they could have some fun together for a change, but she was exhausted. He couldn't be mad though. She'd led the police on a wild bee chase yesterday just so Carapace could get back to the safety of the junkyard with his new limp. Chat nudged him gently, his stomach dropping as he touched Carapace.

"Yes?" he urged.

"There are some things to know..." Carapace said, pulling his gaze away from bee.

"What's that?" Chat asked.

"We like to dream all day. Talk about plans and how life will be after Hawkmoth is gone, and get things done that need to be done in the real world. And then at night... well at night-" carapace chuckled.

Queen Bee beat him to the punch with a delicious smirk. "we /play."

Bee and Carapace grinned knowingly, but that made Adrien's stomach twist. He wasn't entirely certain what he was getting himself into now, but this test was either going to be the making of him or his doom. Ten minutes later or so, Ladybug appeared again, followed by Rena, who was bundled full of rope. Rena didn't even pause to greet him before hurrying over to the fence at the back of the junkyard and lobbing half the rope over to get to the tree on the other side.

"Climbing is important in this game. Escape is easier when no one can follow you and no one gets in your way. Plus you'll never be seen. No one ever thinks to look up," Ladybug smirked.

"Is it like jumping across the rooftops like we did on the way here?" Chat asked Carapace.

"Swing on limbs of trees for practice. If you can climb a tree you can climb most things," Ladybug said.

"is that true?" Rena asked Carapace curiously.

"I don't know man, but I've seen this guy scale a wall already, he can handle a tree," Carapace shrugged.

"Scrap the tree test then. up the rope," Ladybug declared.

One by one, Rena first because she was closest, they scaled the fence, using the rope to cling to as they walked up it as quickly as possible. All but Bee ended up standing on the top of the thick fence. They had space the length of a brick to stand on, and yet all of them crammed up on top like they were standing on the flat ground. Ladybug's hood flapped in the new breeze and Chat's tail now seemed dangerously long. They looked down on the junkyard, including Queen Bee still resting on the sofa. Ladybug unwound the rope from Rena and wrapped it around Chat Noir.

"Without waking up the bee, get over there," she declared, pointing to the other side of the junkyard.

Chat's mouth fell open. He wasn't sure how easy it would be to wake up Queen Bee, but he assumed it'd be harder than he expected otherwise they wouldn't make him do it.

"Using the rope?" He asked, uncertainly.

"If you need it," ladybug shrugged.

Chat looked to Carapace and Rena, hoping for more information, but it didn't come. That deeply frustrated him.

"What'd you expect me to do? swing from rope to rope? Fashion a catapult to throw me over there?! I don't get it!" Chat complained.

"Just get from here. To there. Without waking up bee. That's it. How you do it doesnt matter as long as it gets done!" Ladybug huffed.

Chat frowned as he tried hard to figure out what was expected of him. Ladybug's eye was beginning to drift towards the horizon. She could see the Agreste mansion from up here. She didn't know much about Gabriel, but she desperately wanted to meet him some day. He was her favourite designer. Then she spotted the familiar rooftop of her father's bakery and she felt a stab of guilt. How could she leave her father alone like this every day? How could she give up the bakery, even for her fashion dreams? It wasn't right. Her father needed her.

Rena knew ladybug wasn't listening from one glance. She cleared her throat quietly to get chat's attention.

"Listen, don't worry about waking bee-"

Carapace's eyes widened, and he hissed urgently, "Rena you're cheating!"

Rena ignored him. "Bee's gonna be waiting for you, she's not even asleep-"

Well if she wasn't going to stop he was going to remind her to at least try not to get caught, "Keep your voice down, she'll hear you!"

"You've gotta be prepared to roll in dirt when you can't change your shirt, pretty boy," she warned, lowering her voice for Carapace's peace of mind.

"Dirt?" Chat repeated, baffled.

"You get pretty dirty when you're marching around, kicking up a noise to distract the akumas while the others break people free. Don't be afraid to get dirty now, to prove you're willing to," she advised.

"Just high tail it to the other side and don't like Bee catch you," Carapace shrugged like it was simple, "Remember bull dog in infant's school? This is that. Really intense bull dog."

Chat Noir nodded as if he had a single clue what the hell she was talking about. He'd been home schooled. There were no bulldogs when you were home schooled. But he didn't want to seem clueless, so he went along with it. All he had to do was get to the other side without getting caught. That was it. Simple, right?

Chat tied the rope into a lasso and swung it as far as he could to let it latch onto something tall and far away. It did. A pole sticking out of the ground. On the sixth go mind.

Carapace elbowed him in the ribs, looking pleased. "Now you're cooking with fire!"

Adrien's stomach knotted as he tugged the rope. It was loose enough to let him swing to the ground, but he was certain he wouldn't get much further than that.

"Ready?" Rena asked, cautiously.

Chat's heart beat fast and his hair on the back of his neck curled upwards. "No... here I go!"

Ladybug snapped back into the situation as Chat Noir went swooping down the fence, clinging desperately to the rope, and pointing his toes to go faster as he flew towards Queen Bee. He swung through the air like Tarzan, biting his tongue to keep from screaming.

It made no different.

In the blink of an eye Bee had leapt onto the back of the sofa, balanced for a moment, before throwing herself up at the boy as he swung into reach. He yelped as her nails dug into his waist and both of them went plummeting into the ground.

"ooh!" Ladybug and Carapace winced.

"that's gonna show in the morning," Rena chuckled.

Chat Noir had milliseconds to recover before Bee and figure out how to get away. He realised what Rena had meant now, and spun across the dirt, onto his stomach, before pushing himself up like a launch pad, and leaping to his feet. Bee wasn't far behind him. Bee, instead of chasing him, launched herself back onto the rope, swung around the pole, and leapt forward to land on the ground in front of Chat. he skidded back, shocked at how he'd have to rethink. She smirked. he recognised that smirk, but he couldn't think from where for the life of him!

"GET HIM BEE!"

Down here Ladybug's voice was little more than a faint cry, but it was enough for Chat to lose that little bit of confidence. Bee's heart went out to him. she remembered Ladybug being anti her once, and how that shook her confidence. Maybe it was because he reminded her of herself, but for some reason she really didn't want to get into, she decided to go easy on him.

"Hey, dingus, if you really wanna show Ladybug what you can do, you gotta block my path!" she told him, as she lunged for him.

He leapt out of her path and glanced around for things he could block her out of the way with. Bee picked up a rock and tossed it at his feet.

"Dare you to throw that rock," she said.

For a moment he thought she was lying – why would she help him? – but he decided to believe her. he picked it up, and tossed it in his hand carefully, ready to try and skid it at her feet. After all, he didn't want to hurt her. He got a triple skip. Bee smirked.

"Better than nothing, but you've got a lot to learn," she said.

Bee dragged a plank of wood out of the piles of junk and lifted it high. He gasped as she twirled it. her thick gloves protected her from splinters. Chat wouldn't have that defence. Rena gulped. Her hand reached for Carapace instinctively. Carapace froze up as her fingers curled around his sleeve, and his cheeks turned fuchsia.  
Chat glanced around manically, searching for something that he could use to defend himself. that went he saw that. a pivotal piece of junk. An abandoned bathtub. He smirked.

His green gaze focused on Bee as he leapt over the wood she swung at his feet. "Feeling scared yet?"

"Scared?!" Bee laughed, half amused, and half scoffing, " _Never_. I've got my friends to protect me."

She nodded her head towards the three kids on the fence. Maybe she did think of Rena as a friend then, even after everything they seemed to have between them.

"Even Rena?"

In the moment of distraction that her face flickered, he lunged forward, grabbing the wood, and plunged her arm upwards. The smack of the wood into the junk made the whole pile groan as the small pieces tumbled away.

"heads up," Chat warned, before dropping the wood and dashing to safety.

Bee frowned. She looked up to see the bathtub leaning dangerously close to falling. She gasped, and raced in the other direction, towards her own safety, without giving Chat Noir a second thought. Ladybug's gasp rivalled Bee's. she hit the floor seconds after leaping from the wall. Rena bit her lip.

"this isn't looking good," she said.

Carapace was _dying_. The parts of him that weren't burning red, were sickly greyish. He wasn't breathing, because he couldn't function, and the only thing he could think of despite his eyes being focus so vacantly on the scene below, was **_HANDHANDHANDHAND_**. Then Rena's hand fell from his, and she swung herself down into the junkyard again. Carapace finally gulped in the air like a fish, desperately trying to make his mind work after prolonged lack of oxygen.  
Rena really would be the death of him one day.

"You ok bee?!" Ladybug called.

"This lunatic tried to drop a bath tub on me!" Bee cried, urgently.

"I saw, but are you _ok_?!" Ladybug insisted, her arm on Bee's trying to help her up.

Bee yanked open the wardrobe to their left, and Adrien smirked at the collection of their jackets inside. They had doubles. It made sense, of course, they didn't want to get their clothes dirty or torn or whatever, but they had _doubles_ hidden away in a _wardrobe_ to protect their clothes that they kept in a _junkyard!_ It was a little odd, even to him. Bee, however, wasn't looking at the clothes, but rather the large cracked mirror in the back of the door. She yanked down her hood and cried out like she'd been shot. Adrien's heart leapt from his chest in surprise. He'd never heard a person make a noise like that before.

"NO! LOOK AT MY HAIR! HE'S _RUINED_ MY HAIR!"

Rena laid her elbow on Ladybug's shoulder and smirked, "She's fine."

Bee scowled at her in the mirror but ignored her, so she could reach into her pocket and yank out a hair brush. Adrien gulped when he saw it. you wouldn't expect he'd remember a little brush like that given that it was pocket sized and shiny gold and otherwise incredibly common, but he remembered that.  
when she came over to his house as a child, she liked to let the make up women do her hair, because they made her look pretty. One of them had this brush, and she adored it. she liked using the shiny back to reflect light across the room. when his father banned Chloe from the house, Adrien thought that she'd left because she was mad at him. he stole the brush (and left almost twenty euros, which is probably why the brush was never mentioned again) and sent to it to her house with the postman. When she still didn't return he thought she'd never received it. he didn't try again. now here it was. which meant either Bee had stolen it from the post man, or this was…

"Hey, Noir! Get over here!" Ladybug yelled.

Bee scowled as he approached. Oh yeah. He knew that scowl. But they weren't allowed to mention real names here. she wouldn't be pleased if he brought it up now. plus, Ladybug was looking at him instead of glaring at him, and that in its self was enough to make him want to stay shut up so he didn't ruin it.

Ladybug stepped forwards, out of Rena's grip. Rena pretended to stumble so Carapace leapt to catch her. Adrien didn't hear when she said when she giggled and poked his nose, but Carapace turned pink again, and snatched his hands back, and this time, Rena hit the ground. Carapace yanked his hood low over his face, mortified. Ladybug cleared her throat. Adrien focused on her. all of his attention laid on her bluebell eyes. she was so much shorter than him, and yet she had so much more confidence than him that she could have been a foot taller.

"Alright Noir, listen up because you've got a lot to learn, and if you don't learn, you don't eat! You gotta be tough and always use your head to feel at home on the street like us," She warned.

Chat's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped. He was in? was that what she was trying to say? Had she just moved on now, to let him know that there was no space for wasting time anymore? He'd have to just go with the flow. Adrien straightened up, pulling his shoulders back, and stayed upright like he was standing in front of his father. the funny thing was though, that it didn't feel so unnatural here.

Rena was back on her feet and grinning at Adrien now, "Don't worry, you've got talent and if you watch us, we'll show you how to make sure everything is free."

"yeah?" Adrien couldn't stop himself grinning.

"Watch how we do things and I guarantee you're gonna see how the best survive!" Ladybug promised.

"We make an art out of staying alive," Bee said, firmly.

She still wasn't pleased with how her hair looked, and she'd yanked it out of it's pony tail so now the yellow fell around her shoulders like a shawl, glinting in the sun. she really did put a lot of care into her hair.

"you think I can be like that too?" Adrien asked, hopefully.

"For now just try to do just as you're told," Ladybug warned. "If you can do that, you can help us. We're gonna take the town!"

"And take it with style," the smirk escaped Bee's stubborn frown, and made it into her voice.

"You think you're up to it?" Rena teased.

A smile grew on Adrien's face, and then he pictured his father's scowl at how much time he'd been missing today, and how furious he'd be if he kept sneaking out. he didn't dare imagine how mad he'd be if he even asked to go out again…  
Ladybug understood the slow way that his smile faded away. He wanted to stay, he wanted this. he probably had an important reason to want this. she'd find out over time. but right here, right now, he was thinking about his other life. away from here he had family. Responsibilities. People he was worried about. She understood that. she had her father to worry about. But this was important.

"if you wanna back out-" her voice was the softest it had been all morning, and Adrien scarcely heard it.

"No. I wanna be here. but… I don't know if I can," His firm tone faded just like his smile.

Ladybug shrugged and flashed him a smile that made his chest twitch. "Don't show it. play it brave and bold and eventually you will be."

"Isn't it hard? Dangerous?" he asked, nervously.

"To live from week to week without an akuma taking you, you need technique so perfect you gotta practice it every day. we've got two rules. What are they?" Ladybug called to the others.

"Thou shall leave no one behind!" Rena yelled before anyone else could speak.

"and?" Ladybug pressed.

"Thou shalt not get caught, even for the sake of someone else," Bee said, finally tugging her hood back up over her head.

Rena silently mocked her speaking, so Bee shot a dirty look her way, and Rena blew a raspberry. Bee leapt to her feet, ready to fight, and Carapace darted over to calm her down. Meanwhile Rena giggled. Ignoring them, Ladybug focused on Chat Noir.

"Get what you can and then get away. Remember all the places you can hide. And, most importantly, remember we are always on your side. If you need us, you yell, and we come running. We need you, you come running. But if you can't save us without getting caught yourself, you leave us," She explained, calmly but seriously.

He looked confused. "but that goes against rule one."

"Yes, it does. But we need numbers. So don't get caught in the first place!" ladybug warned.

"that sounds complicated," Chat said.

"There is nothing complicated about the way we live. We are here for each other and proud of it," Carapace beamed.

"besides, we've got everything we need. Stars, moon, sun, plenty for everyone," Rena said, pointedly.

Ladybug rolled her eyes at them, but the soft smile that accompanied it was too affectionate to think she didn't care about every single one of them.

"All we have we share because we care about each other. We're a family," Carapace explained.

Adrien's heart hit his shoes. The word was so alien to him it felt like a ghost of something he used to know. "family?"

"well, there a kinda bond between us nobody can explain, and it feels like a celebration of life!" Rena beamed.

"you're exaggerating!" Bee snapped. Before Rena could start arguing, Bee turned to face Chat, and he suddenly saw the powerful blue in her eyes, lined by the smudged eyeliner. There was no mistaking it. this was his one and only friend. it took him so long to get past that thought that he missed the start of what she was saying. "Look kid, when we see our friends again we know one thing. I'll be there for you, you'll be there for me. Yeah, it's a weird kind of family, and we spend most of our time trying to break people out of jail because we've lost too many to the akumas."

"We remember we love once we're parted, because it means we've always got someone near to our heart to help find love, or plan a future, tell stories to – y'know just love!" Rena argued.

"Precious moments you'll never forget too," Carapace promised.

"Yeah. That sounds like us!" Ladybug smirked. she turned to Chat, finally giving him a smile, he deserved, and said, "So welcome to our family time. We're here to share it all!"

Adrien's face was frozen somewhere between fear and unabashed delight. That was an expression he wore all the way home. He'd been so wrapped up in the training games they wee playing that he almost missed the time that he had to leave, and he ended up running most of the way home. Carapace walked him most of the way, because they were worried about him getting lost.

Carapace tugged at his hoodie. "I need this."

"what, why?" Chat frowned.

"Ladybug'll fix it up and make you look like a proper cat. Plus, y'know, walking into your house with a tail and everything'll look a bit suspect," carapace smirked.

"right…" Adrien pulled the hoodie off, and felt exposed. "when can I get it back?"

"when she'd done. don't worry, she'd brilliant at this. she made by backpack, Rena's hoodie, and Bee's trousers," Carapace smiled.

Adrien frowned, "her trousers?"

"Well Bee likes carrying stuff, like a pocket brush and a mirror and make up, which she's proved time and time again are actually useful sometimes, and she wouldn't wear a back pack, but her sash kept getting caught on stuff, so Bug put pockets all the way down her trousers. They're all back to blend with the fabric but have yellow flaps to go with the theme. Didn't you see them?"

"I wasn't looking."

Carapace folded the hoodie up and tucked it into his back pack, along with the belt. "Bug makes most of our clothes and makes most of them better. Chat wanted to hide his face, yeah, but his neckerchief kept choking him, so Bug stitched in a pocket inside the collar, and the neckerchief inside that with Velcro edges, so the Velcro could make the neckerchief into a mask without even touching his neck or face!"

"that's genius! Blanc had this?"

"makes you wonder what she'll make for yours, huh?"

Adrien tried to remember seeing it on the google search, but he could place it. He wasn't fully listening when he agreed. "yeah, totally does."

Carapace yanked his backpack into place, and said, "keep practicing and come back tomorrow if you can. We're gonna have some fun."

Carapace winked before leaving. Adrien watched him go, using the walls like gravity didn't affect him. Adrien smiled. he tried to imagine doing that himself, but it seemed a little too farfetched. Maybe he'd make up his own actions.  
In his own hoodie.  
that _Bug_ had made for him.  
Adrien beamed at the idea. He wasn't entirely sure why, but being in procession of Ladybug's nickname (nicknames nickname he supposed) made him feel a little giddy. Actually, just thinking about ladybug made him feel a little giddy. He had no idea why, but he put it towards that face that she was the reason he was allowed to stay. She was why he had friends.

Oh he finally had FRIENDS!

Adrien was on cloud nine as he shut the bedroom door behind him. instantly Plagg shot to his wide meowing angrily, because he was hungry and lonely and confused as to where he'd been. Plagg was furious with him, but Adrien was too happy to even pretend he regretted going outside. He was already rambling before the door even shut. He was lucky Natalie hadn't been passing. Not that lucky though. she wasn't due for another ten minutes, and she never bothered with him if she could avoid it. no one did.

"I thought I lost you. don't do that again!" Plagg hissed.

"I'm going back tomorrow!" Adrien beamed.

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Plagg snarled.

"this has to be the most beautiful place I've ever been to Plagg! It's nothing like I've never seen before! When I think how far we went - I can't believe it! We're happy! Ready to give and to take, and – _friends! FRIENDS_ PLAGG! I made it! I made it… There is nothing they – nothing we won't do… a family… I have a family Plagg…"

Adrien was so in awed by this new realisation that he fell into his seat. Plagg couldn't be mad at him anymore, even though he really wanted to be. Plagg sat on Adrien's knees and purred softly. Adrien's hand immediately began stroking him, but his mind was still swinging across that junkyard.


End file.
